NYC Health

case study

advertising

virtual town hall

influencer partnership

social media

convincing diverse new yorkers to get tested and traced during covid times.

as new york city moved to reopen during the pandemic, NYC Health and Hospitals launched the NYC Test & Trace Corps to test, trace, and manage covid-19 cases, while ultimately keeping new york city safe.

the success of nyc test & trace corps relied on incentivizing widespread, voluntary participation and cooperation among all new yorkers, including communities hardest hit by covid-19 that have historically experienced health disparities and are therefore skeptical about interventions from both the government and the medical establishment. so, we create an educational marketing and outreach campaign that was citywide, multicultural, multilingual, and multidimensional.

we focused on two primary target audiences: women — who make the majority of healthcare decisions in their households – and the lgbtq+ community — who have a long history of distrust with the medical community where testing is concerned. for both, we drove engagement with trusted influencers in the communities to help dispel misconceptions and answer concerns — and through the universal connector of music (custom stations/playlists on popular streaming services).

to reach women, we partnered with nyc-based lifestyle influencer, dj, and new mom, vashtie kola and pandora. vashtie helped us curate a branded nyc-themed station on pandora targeting new yorkers, which featured educational audio within the station about the nyc test & trace corps. we amplified the station and vashtie’s messaging on social media, where she shared her story of getting tested while pregnant.

we saw 69K+ clicks direct to nyc.gov/covidtest, 81MM+ impressions over two months, and 6MM+ new yorkers reached.

our lgbtq+ campaign focused on facebook live streaming q&a events hosted by prominent and trusted drag personalities monét x change and pixie aventura, who partnered with health care experts. these events were offered in both english and spanish. to promote the event, we targeted members of the lgbtq+ community using digital display across facebook, instagram, spotify, and pandora—creating pride-themed playlists specific to the campaign.

we saw 34K+ clicks direct to nyc.gov/covidtest, 51MM+ impressions served, and 3MM+ new yorkers reached.